Group president denies resigning

Black Elected Officials face inquiry

January 29, 2008|By Juan Ortega Staff Writer

Levoyd Williams on Monday said he is no longer president of the Broward Black Elected Officials.

Pressure mounted for Williams to resign late last year, when the nonprofit group was repeatedly criticized by former members for its lack of public financial information. Whether anyone involved with the nonprofit organization broke any law in recent years also is the focus of an ongoing investigation by the Broward County State Attorney's Office.

Williams, a Lauderdale Lakes city commissioner, on Monday argued he didn't resign as his critics had desired. Instead, he said, he fulfilled his one-year term as president this month and opted not to run for re-election.

He denied stepping down because of the controversy, saying he wanted to let another member lead the group.

"If I really wanted to stay president, I probably would have done it," he said. "It's time to move on."

But that didn't jibe with Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner John Billingsley, among those who had asked Williams to resign. Billingsley said he found it inconsistent for Williams to step down now, since he had previously renewed his presidency year after year.

"Levoyd has been in the seat for almost seven years now," Billingsley said, saying he thought Williams instead took the "politically correct" way out of leadership.

During a reorganizational meeting earlier this month, Williams was replaced by Lauderhill City Commissioner Margaret Bates. She said the group has added procedures for better fiscal oversight. "Every penny will be accounted for," she said.

The organization began operating as a nonprofit group in 2005 to build leadership skills among elected officials in Broward County and raise student scholarship money.

The group in recent years got taxpayer money from Lauderdale Lakes at a time when its financial records weren't publicly available. The unavailability of financial information last year prompted six members of the group to withdraw in protest. Some Lauderdale Lakes residents, whose city gave the group money, also questioned whether the group operated legally.